19 Jul Your Next Paint Project: Why it’s Important to Get Multiple Bids

Here a some reasons why its important to get multiple bids on your next paint project:

Reason #1: Fair Price

• Make sure you’re getting a fair price – obvious right? We all get this one, but it’s not just about finding the lowest bid. Purchasing experts advise that it is just as important to make sure you aren’t choosing a desperate, unrealistic bid that failed to capture all the elements required in your paint project. However, there’s no way to know this without multiple bids to compare. The classic under-bid is just going to cost time managing the project, change-orders as the vendor begins to realize what they missed (and then attempt to put it back on you), and eventual re-work costs to do the job properly, a second time. Ideally, multiple bids, all in the same range, will offer peace of mind that your project is receiving a fair-market price. With this established, the property manager or business owner can focus on non-price related aspects of the proposals.

Reason #2: Compare Expertise

• Multiple bids should provide insight into different ways to tackle a complex paint or coatings project. Just because you request a bid for a project to be done in a specific way, does not mean that it’s the only way. Allow your vendors to shine. They will show their expertise by advising you of new coatings/materials, a thorough project management plan, and offering up references. A good vendor will do exactly what you request. For that reason, a great vendor-partner will do exactly what you want, but also offer up thoughtful ideas and solutions that add value.

Reason #3: Your own Due Diligence

• It’s simply a smart due diligence opportunity to see how well you will work with the vendor. How professional is your sales contact? Are they on time? Do they follow up with answers and requests as promised? Do they have a support staff backing them? You might be surprised, but these customer service basics are often not so basic for many commercial paint contractors. As a result, working with multiple vendors for bids will allow for valuable interaction and comparisons before your job begins. For example: “Contractor Carl” seems solid. However, he could be outshined by “Commercial Painter Paul” just by allowing multiple vendors to offer up their services.